A Christmas to Remember
by XyKPfan
Summary: Everyone's gathered for the holidays at the Maple residents. But when a malevolent rival makes another attempt at revenge, will this momentous occasion turn out to be dolorous?
1. Family Time

A/N: Hey everyone! Seeing as how today's Christmas, I decided to write this fic now. I'm hoping to have this one up as a Two-Shot but it just might become Three-Shot. I'll have to see how it plays out. I must also say that this has a T rating, mainly because of some swearing and violence. After some revising on my part, this has been pushed to a _very _hard T rating. Also, towards the end of this chappy, there is some strong profanity used as well. So, if you think I should up the rating to M, please let me know. That's my only concern for right now.

So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you _A Christmas to Remember_!

I do not own Pokémon. That privilege belongs solely to the…um…who does it belong to? Anyway, bottom line is I don't own Pokémon. So don't hurt me!

* * *

Caroline smiled to herself as she stirred the brown sugar, Dijon mustard, and pecans for her glazed ham in a mixing bowl. She was so excited that her children were coming home for Christmas. Max left about 9 years ago to pursue his dream of becoming a better pokémon trainer than his dad. It was a bittersweet moment for Caroline to see her youngest child off, but she knew she couldn't keep him from fulfilling his life-long dream. About a few years into his journey, Max decided to take a break and stay at home to help his parents, much to Caroline's delight, often taking Norman's place at the gym when he wasn't able to do it himself.

Caroline also noticed that the few years Max was away, he had grown—a lot. He was now just a few inches shy of his father's height and leaner. His voice was deeper and his hair was just a few centimeters away from being shoulder-length. He also changed his horn-rimmed glasses to half-rimmed ones, claiming that he needed a new style to go along with a still-growing body.

As Caroline went to get some pineapples from the fridge to go with her ham, her mind drifted toward her oldest child. May had also grown a lot since the last time she saw her, too. She had grown a few inches taller and her body, too, grew leaner and curvier. Her breasts were slightly bigger and her hair was longer. Not to mention her stomach nearly tripled in size with the growing life now within her.

Caroline was nearly brought to tears as she thought of how, in a few months, she'd be a grandmother.

'_My little girl, a mother,'_ She thought to herself.

She was so caught up in her thoughts, Caroline forgot she wasn't alone in the kitchen. It wasn't until she heard her name a third time that she finally heard what her friend was saying.

"Caroline Maple?"

"…Delia?"

It took Caroline a moment to remember that she invited her son-in-law's mother over to help her cook their Christmas meal.

"Finally, you respond! I was getting a little worried about you."

"Oh no, I'm fine. Just thinking about the kids is all."

"Ahh…I know. I've been thinking about Ashy, too."

"Can you believe that in just a few months, we're gonna be grammas!"

"I know! Seems like just yesterday I was holding Ash in my hands. Now look at him. He's married….has a baby on the way…"

"Where did the time go Delia?"

"Whew….I don't know."

"Well, I guess all we can do is savor what's happening now before we miss that, too."

"I hear that."

"Oh Delia, could you check on the ham for me? It's in the oven."

"Sure."

Getting back to work, Caroline shook her head and started to slice the pineapples as Delia walked over to the stove.

As Caroline was chopping the pineapples, she heard the doorbell ring.

"Max, honey, can you get that? I'm a little busy right now."

"Sure, Mom."

Max raced down the stairs to the front door. He was wearing a long-sleeved polo shirt and black dry denim jeans with black cap-toe oxford shoes. He was called out by his mother before he reached the door.

"Maxwell Maple, what have I told you about running in the house!"

"Sorry, Mom."

The look on Max's face as he opened the door could best be described as astonishment. Before him stood an ochre-skinned man with seal-brown spiky hair. He was dressed in a black embroidered casual guayabera shirt and black slacks with black plain-oxford shoes.

"Brock? Oh my gosh, how long's it been? Like 12 years?"

"Yeah, it's definitely been a while. It's good to see you again, Max - in person, that is."

"Good to see you too, Brock."

"….Well…are you gonna let me in?"

"Oh! Yeah, right. Come on in."

As Max let Brock in, he called out to his mother.

"Hey Mom, Brock's here!"

Caroline stepped out of the kitchen and into the entrance of the living room to see her new visitor. She was stirring some home-made apple cider in a mug.

"Hello, Brock. It's nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too, Caroline."

As Brock said those words, Caroline noticed Max's occasion-inappropriate attire and was not going to let him go unnoticed.

"Max!"

"Y-Yes Mom?" Max answered warily, thinking that maybe she caught sight of his disgusted expression.

"Couldn't you have put on something more suitable for the occasion? Jeans and polo shirts are not suitable for Christmas. I told you to wear something dressy today."

"Mom, this is the only _dressy_ thing I have."

"What about that sweater I bought you last year with the little Stantler and Snover on them?"

"Mom! That'd be social suicide!"

"Max, honey..."

"Even if I wanted to wear it Mom, I couldn't. It's too small for me now."

"Oh…Okay honey…" Caroline said before she walked back into the kitchen to finish making her cider. There was a hint of disappointment in her voice, though it went unnoticed by Max, but not by Brock.

"Is that shirt your mom bought you really _too _small for you, Max?" Brock asked, suspicion clearly etched in his voice.

"Yes, it is. I'd suffocate if I tried to put it on."

"I'm sure your mom could make alterations to make it fit better."

"Ugh. Brock, I'm not wearing that sweater, period. End of discussion," Max said while folding his arms.

"Okay, okay. Change subject. How're you and Vivi doing?"

"Winstrate?"

"Yeah."

"Okay I guess. She went out of town with her family to go support Vito at some convention for past League Champions or something."

"Heartbroken?"

"Me? Heck no. Vivi went to go support her brother just as how I would go to support May. I have no problem with that. She should spend Christmas with her family like I am doing with mine. Besides, she's beginning to get a little too clingy for me. Don't get me wrong, I love Vivi with all my heart, but we need our space. She's getting to be a little irritating."

"I see."

"So, how's you and your girlfriend?" Max asked with a sly grin on his face.

"…Girlfriend? What girlfriend?"

"What do you mean what girlfriend? Lucy!"

"Lucy…Lucy who?"

"Pike Queen Lucy? Your girlfriend of 5 years?"

"Hmm…Her name's not registering in my mind."

Max nearly slapped himself at Brock's statement.

"Lucy, Brock! Pike Queen Lucy! Queen of the Battle Pike! One of the Frontier Brains!"

"Oh! _That_ Lucy!"

"Yes!"

"We're not seeing each other anymore."

Max fell anime-style onto the ground.

"What? How? Why?"

"We grew apart. It was time to move on. With me being a pokémon breeder and her being a Frontier Brain, it was very difficult for us to keep a relationship. We decided to take break for a while."

"Awww, poor Brock. Never could keep a girl that long, could you?"

"That hurts, Max. That really hurts."

"I bet I get married before you do, Brock! That'd be a laugh, huh?"

Some time while Max was talking, Brock went to go huddle in a corner somewhere, mumbling something about how little boys could be so cruel, causing Max to sweatdrop.

"Some things never change," Max said while shaking his head.

The doorbell rang for the second time.

"I got it!" Max yelled as he walked over to the door. Max almost had to hide his smile when he saw the newcomers.

"Hey, Misty!"

"That you Max? You've sure grown," said the Cerulean City Gym Leader.

"So have you… I mean…" Max started before he was cut off by another person who was standing behind Misty.

"Dammit! Can't you two talk once we get inside? It's freaking 20 degrees out here!" said the other visitor.

"Well, _excuse_ me!" Max said as he moved aside for Misty and her friend to come inside.

"Hey, Brock!" Misty said as she hung her coat up.

Brock, who had already recovered from his state of depression, looked up to greet his friend.

"Hey, Misty! How are yo-aruh!" Brock was taken aback once he saw who Misty had arrived with.

"P-Paul? What are you doing here?"

"I drove here, jackass!" was the purple-haired man's response.

"Paul! Sorry, Brock. Paulie's just a little upset cause he hasn't eaten anything yet."

"Misty, what the hell? I told you not to call me that in front of other people!"

"Excuse me!" Max cleared his throat to get everybody's attention. "Isn't anyone gonna introduce me to this stranger, who doesn't seem to know what the term respect means?"

"Why, you little…"

"Paul! Do not make me take out my mallet!" Misty threatened her partner, causing him to sweatdrop and scowl.

"Paul's a trainer Ash and I knew back in Sinnoh," Brock said, his shock from earlier still evident on his face.

"What a surprise. The jackass remembers me," Paul said nonchalantly.

"Paul…" Misty said in frustration. But it vanished as soon as she saw the look on her friends' faces.

Brock gave her a look that said 'You've some serious explaining to do!' That same look was reflected in Max's eyes, who just gave her a look that read 'You better control your boy before I have to kick his ass!'

"I'll explain everything once the others have arrived," Misty said with a sweatdrop.

"Brock, could you come help us in the kitchen? I have need of your skills," Caroline called from the kitchen.

"Sure thing, Caroline."

Brock went to go help Caroline and Delia in the kitchen when the doorbell rang again.

"I got it!" Max yelled as he went to let in the next group of visitors.

"Does he have to say that every time he goes to the door?" Paul said with disgust, earning an elbow in the stomach by Misty.

Max didn't have any expression on his face when he saw his next pair of visitors since he didn't know who the pair was. The first person he saw was a young woman with long navy-blue hair that flowed down to the small of her back. She wore a pink scarf around her neck with matching pink boots. The other visitor was a blond-haired young man with bright amber eyes. He wore an orange scarf around his neck and brown boots.

"Hey! You must be Max!" said the dark-haired woman.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've meet."

"Oh, right. I'm a friend of your sister and Brock," she said cheerily.

"Um…I don't mean to sound rude, but can we please come in. I'm freezing out here!" cried the blond-haired man.

"Um…okay," Max said while letting in the couple, still not quite sure about who they were.

"Whew, it's warm in here," commented the young woman.

"Um, mind telling me who you are now?" Max asked with an inquisitive tone.

"Is that Dawn I hear out there?" Brock said as he reentered the living room.

"Brock!" Dawn exclaimed as she ran up to give her friend a hug.

"Nice to see you again, Dawn. I hardly recognized you without the yellow barrettes in your hair," Brock said cheerily.

"Oh, it's so good to you again, Brock! It's been too long!" Dawn said with just as much cheer.

The moment, however, was interrupted as two throats were cleared.

"Mind introducing us now, hun?" the blond-haired visitor asked with a suspicious tone. A cold chill ran down Brock's and Max's spine as he said that last word.

"Yes! Please introduce us," Max said after recovering from the brief shudder.

"Max, this is Dawn. She's a trainer who used to travel with Ash and me back in Sinnoh. She's a coordinator like May."

"And this hunk of a man right here is Barry, my long-term boyfriend and best friend…Well, one of them."

Barry smiled at hearing his name being paired with Dawn's. Max, however, still wore a confused look on his face.

"And how do you know my sister, exactly?"

"Max, remember when May came to Sinnoh a few years ago to compete in the Wallace Cup? Well, that's when she met Dawn."

"We even competed against each other. I of course won, but that's another story."

"Remember now?" Brock asked.

"Hmm…vaguely. That was so long ago. We taped the show, but I never really watched it since May lost. But I'll take your word for it."

"Are we late? I don't see anyone here. Oh, I bet we're late. Oh, Dawn, you're so slow. Why do you women always have to take so long in the bathroom? We just barely missed Rush Hour Traffic!" Barry feverishly said, his statement causing Dawn to put her hands on her hips.

"Actually, you're early. The food still has another good 3 hours before it'll be finished," Brock answered.

"See baby, no need to worry…"

"Ugh, not you again," Paul grumbled as he came out of the bathroom.

"Paul? What are you doing here?" Dawn said with a confused look on her face.

"I drove here, bitch. I…"

"Whoa…hold on a minute there, partner. Bitch? Did you just call my girlfriend a bitch?"

"Who the hell are you? Whatever. I don't care."

"You better care. You better hope I heard you wrong buster. Nobody talks trash about my girlfriend!"

"Whatever you dumb blond. I don't care…"

"What did you just call me?" Barry could feel his face getting red.

"Look, I don't care who you are or why you're here. I'm only here for food and because my girlfriend…convinced me to come. Do whatever you want with your little trick. I don't care."

"Whoa! Whoa! TMI Paul! TMI!"

"I don't really give a damn, you navy-headed bitch."

"That's it!"

Barry lunged for Paul, but was restrained by Brock and Dawn.

"Barry, please don't! He's not worth it!" Dawn screamed as she held her boyfriend back.

"Let me go, Dawn!" Barry screamed back, still trying to pry himself loose from her grasp.

"Whatever, losers. You're wasting my time." And with that, Paul walked leisurely into the den.

"Hey! You're supposed to ask permission before you go into someone else's den!" Max called out to Paul.

"Nice to see you too, Paul!" Dawn yelled out at Paul, only to be flipped off by him in response.

"You're lucky Dawn's holding me back, you sorry son of a bitch! You'd be dead by now!"

"He's gone now, Barry. Don't worry about it."

"It's just…what he said…about you…and then…" Barry was cut off as Dawn's lips met his. When she pulled back, Barry was blushing feverishly.

"Thank you for standing up for me, sweetie. Now don't worry about it. We came here to celebrate Christmas with my friends. Paul, for whatever reason he's here…I don't know…just…"

Dawn was cut off as the bell rang again.

"I'll get it," Brock said with a huff.

Brock went over to go answer the door as the young couple made out some more. Max just sat there at dinner table with his arms crossed, mumbling something about Paul being an arrogant bastard.

As Brock peered into the eyehole, a smile lit up on his face when he saw who was on the other side of the door.

"Hey, guys! Kanto's and Hoenn's most beloved couple is here!"

"Brock, will you please let us in?" a feminine voice called out.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm gonna need to see some identification."

"Well, you can't very well do that until you open the door now, can you?"

"Brock, man, c'mon. Let us in already," called a male's voice, soon followed by a "Pika Pika."

"Brock, we're not the only ones out here freezing, you know."

Brock grew pale as he thought about what the woman said. He quickly proceeded in opening the door to let the couple in.

"Well, look who's home," Brock said as he looked at the pair.

The man had raven black hair and wore a sangria red hat on his head as well as a red scarf around his neck. He also had on an onyx sweater and black dress shoes. There was a Pikachu perched on his shoulder wearing a navy blue hat and a blue mini version of his trainer's sweater. The woman had copper brown hair and wore an emerald-green bandana on her head with a matching sweater and Quai D'Orsay emerald-green high heels. On her shoulder, a Plusle was perched, also wearing an emerald-green bandana on her head and a mini version of her trainer's sweater.

"Hello to you too, Brock," May said as she walked inside the house, but not before giving her friend a hug first.

"Brock! How's it been?" Ash asked as he hung his coat up.

"Great. I…" Brock was cut off by twin "Pika".

"Oh, sorry. My bad. Hey there Pikachu, Plusle."

"Pika! Pikachu!" They answered simultaneously.

"Where's everybody else, Brock?" May asked as Ash helped her take off her coat.

"They're in the living room. But after hearing Pikachu and Plusle, and after hearing my announcement earlier, they should be here in about…"

"May!" Dawn and Misty said vehemently.

"…Zero seconds."

"Dawn! Misty!" May exclaimed as they ran up to give each other a hug.

"Oh my gosh, May, it's so good to see you!" Dawn chimed.

"I know! How's long's it been?" May cheered.

"Too long!" Misty screamed.

All the girls squealed simultaneously.

"May! You're Huge!" Misty exclaimed.

"I know…" She sighed.

"It looks good on you." Dawn said.

"Really?"

"You've got to tell me how you do it so I can prepare myself later on!" said Misty.

All girls squealed simultaneously again while Ash stands next to Brock with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Brock, are they always like this?"

"I don't think we'll ever understand women, Ash. You think this is much? You missed a whole lot of drama here a few minutes ago."

"Do I even wanna know?"

"Probably not. But it may come up again later on."

After shaking his head, Ash walks up to the group of squealing women. "What? I don't get any love?"

"Looks like May gave you enough love for all three of us," Misty said with a smirk.

That remark caused Ash and May to turn as red as her hair and Dawn to giggle uncontrollably.

"Oh, come over here, Ash!" Misty exclaimed.

Ash hesitantly walks over to Misty.

"Oh c'mon Ash! Can't you take a joke?"

Ash still felt uncomfortable with the situation, and just eases over to her. Misty, however, not accepting that offer, crushes Ash into a huge bear hug. This is soon followed by Dawn. Soon, both girls have Ash in a crushing embrace.

"Misty…Dawn…Can't…Breathe…"

"Oh grow up, Ash. Of course you could breathe. You'd be dead if you couldn't," Misty said with no clear emotion after releasing him from her grasp.

Ash, gasping for breath, fell to the floor and held his throat.

Max walked away from the dinner table he was sitting at and toward the group to go greet his sister.

"May?"

"Max, is that you!" May exclaimed, happy to see her _not so little_ little brother.

"Wow May! You're huge! You're bigger than your Snorlax!"

May's cheery expression disappeared, only to be replaced with one of discouragement.

"That's not funny, Max! You think I like looking like this!" May screamed, pointing at her expanding belly for emphasis. She was nearly brought to tears by her brother's statement.

"May, I…"

"That's not nice, Max!" Dawn joined in.

"You should be more sensitive about your sister's condition!" Misty exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Dawn replied.

"But…But…" was all Max could say as sweat began trickle down his face after being targeted by all three girls.

Brock, seeing Max in this situation, went to go help him.

"Wait a minute. Just a few minutes ago you girls were laughing about May's pregnancy. Now you're targeting Max?"

Brock realized his mistake as all three girls stared daggers at him for making such a statement.

"We were joking, Brock! You know I can't possibly look good like this!"

"Max didn't say it as a joke! He said it with disgust!"

"How dare you just jump in here and question our judgment!"

"You had no business just coming into this conversation!"

"How could you be so rude and cruel towards May!"

"Yeah!"

Brock just sweatdropped and held up his hands in defense. He was about to say something before being cut off by Misty.

"C'mon May. Let's go in the living room and sit down."

"If we stay around here too long, we might get infected with their malevolent mannerisms."

"Yeah, I do need to relax. I feel so stressed and tired right now."

All three girls continue to talk as they walk into the living room. Brock waited until he was sure they were all the way in the other room before he dropped his hands and let out a sigh of relief.

"Whew, Brock, thanks for taking them off my shoulders. Oh….that would have been ugly," Max said as he patted Brock on the shoulder.

"Don't mention it."

Ash leisurely walked over to his friend with a huge grin on his face.

"Why are you smiling?"

"I could have told you not to do that. Believe me, I've had my share of my experiences with May, especially with this baby coming. Hormones all over the place. I know what I should and should not say to her. I thought you'd know not to jump in like that?"

"Ash, he hasn't been in a relationship long enough to know."

Max's statement causes Brock again to go huddled up in a corner somewhere, mumbling to himself about how teenagers can be so cruel, causing Ash and Max to sweatdrop and laugh nervously at seeing their friend in this state.

"Was that my little girl I heard coming in here a little while ago?" Caroline chimed.

"Mom!"

Seeing the two Maple women embrace each other causes Ash and Max to sweatdrop again.

"Oh boy. Here we go again."

"Just try not to say anything about May's appearance."

"Aww. You're taking away my brotherly rights?"

"Did you not just learn your lesson? Take it from me Max, don't say anything to May about how she looks for the rest of the night."

"What'd she do to you?"

"Horrible things, Max. Horrible Things."

* * *

"Mom? Are you sure Dad won't make it this Christmas?"

"I'm not sure honey. He said he's snowed in. It'll probably be days before he can even get out of the building let alone back to Hoenn. He said he'll try to make it back for New Year's but there's no guarantee," Caroline said while picking up the tray of cookies and eggnog she left for them to eat until the food was completely finished.

"Couldn't he try to get out?"

"Now May, you know that's not an option. If he even tried to get out of the building in the state it's in, it would most likely collapse and everyone in it will be buried under the cabin and snow. You wouldn't want that now, would you?"

May grew pale as she pictured her father lying limply on the ground buried under heaps and heaps of snow and wood.

"No! No!"

"Good. Please try to understand May. He sends his wishes and he wants you to promise that when he does get out of that blizzard that you'll show him that sonogram picture of the baby like you promised us."

"I will once the whole family is here to see it."

"May, the kid'll be an old man by the time that happens," her brother said smartly, earning himself a cold stare from his sister.

"Don't worry sweetie. I'm sure he'll be just fine," Caroline reassured her daughter. And with that, she walked back into the kitchen to resume cooking.

Brock, feeling that the tension from earlier had gone away, decided that it was a good time to get a conversation going.

"So May, how far along are you?"

"6 months," she said with a smile.

"3 more to go!" Ash said proudly.

"Pregnancy is such a beautiful thing," Dawn said dreamily.

"Oh, I can't wait until I have one!" Misty said passionately.

"Yes you can! I'm not bringing up any little bastard any time soon!" Paul said with disgust, earning himself a whack on the head with Misty's mallet.

"Dammit woman, what is wrong with you!" Paul said vehemently, only to by slapped hard across the face by his red-headed girlfriend. This causes everybody else to sweatdrop.

"So May, how did you first know you were pregnant?" Dawn asked, still nervous about what was transpiring between Paul and Misty.

"Well…I took a pregnancy test."

"_A_ pregnancy test?" Ash asked with sarcasm in his voice.

"Okay, I took 20 pregnancy tests."

Her statement causes everybody to look at her with bugged-out eyes, including the Pikachu. Prikachu was there when her trainer took the pregnancy test, but even she didn't know she bought that many.

"20 pregnancy tests?"

"In one day?"

"How'd you generate enough pee to take 20 pregnancy tests?"

"I don't know! I just did!"

"Okay, okay. Moving on…Ash, how'd May tell you about it?" Brock asked, trying to shake the disturbing image of May taking a series of pregnancy tests out of his head.

"Well…"

"Ash didn't understand anything I said when I tried to tell him about it."

"That's because you kept giving me hints. Why didn't you just flat-out tell me you were pregnant when I came home?"

"Ash, would you have really taken me seriously if I said 'I'm pregnant' the moment you got home? You probably would have had a heart attack."

"Just what clues did you give him, May?" Brock asked, interested in how Ash interpreted her explanation. He knew how dense Ash could be at times.

"Well…I started by telling him that I figured out the cause of my illness…"

"You're not gonna let me tell it?"

"Ash, if you couldn't understand what I was saying then, how will you be able to…"

"I'm not stupid, May!"

"Never said you were, baby. But fine, Ash, go ahead and explain. Just don't get it wrong."

"May took me upstairs to our bedroom and we sat down on the bed. She stared saying something about how what we did last night was good and…"

"See, I knew you would get it wrong."

"What?"

"I never said that, Ash. I said my illness may have been caused when we were in this bedroom."

"But…"

"You know what his response was, Brock?"

"What?"

"We never did _anything_ in here. And I stress 'anything'."

This causes everyone else to stare blankly at Ash.

"What? We didn't do anything in there that could have caused May to be ill."

"Anyway, my next hint was that it was one of his favorite things do with me. And his first answer was: eat. I told him that he didn't need to do that with me. So his next answer was: sleep. I told him I contributed to that in no way. His last answer was: battle. So I left that clue alone and went onto the next hint."

"You're embarrassing me, May."

"Too bad. You should have thought about that before you started making up stuff about what really happened. Besides, you owe me from the many different times you embarrassed me over the years."

"I didn't…"

"So the next hint I gave him was …"

"No! Please don't say it, May! Please! I'm begging you!"

"Fine, baby, I won't say it…Moving on to the tenth hint I gave him. I told him it was how babies were created. He told me he wasn't following with what I was saying. So I told him when we have sex there's a good chance we might have a…and he said: orgasm."

This causes everybody to stare at Ash in disbelief, which in turn, causes him to turn a brilliant red.

"I told him you don't have an orgasm, you experience one. So then…"

"May, please don't go any further! I think they get it now."

Ignoring her husband, May continued.

"I told him that when we, or more specifically, a woman, has sex, there's a good chance she might get… and do you know what he said?"

"I'm afraid to even ask."

"He said, and I quote, 'Horny'."

Everybody stares at Ash in disbelief again, causing him to blush even more.

"So then, I told him his mother was once this, and he said: young. I'm not even gonna get into that. I'll just move on to saying my final clue. I gave him every single clue I had given him before and put them all together. I said: _It's one of your favorite things to do with me, we do it in the bedroom, it can cause me, and every other woman to get…in which I will have a…Your mother was once this. She had to be in order to have you. So that means I'm…_and I left it like that for him to fill in the blanks."

"May, if you love me you won't tell them what I said."

"I'm not going to Ash…You are."

"What?"

"I did my part. Now time for you to do yours."

"Aww, May."

"C'mon, Ash. Tell us what you said. It couldn't have possibly been worse than what you already told us," Max said with a grin.

Ash, realizing that there was no way he could escape, just decided to go ahead and get it over with.

"What did you say, baby?"

"…Hungry…" Ash said as he covered his face.

The room was silent. Nobody moved. The only movements seen were flabbergasted faces directed towards Ash.

"…Hungry?..."

"…Wha?…"

"Ash…"

"How the hell do you get hungry from clues like that?" Misty bellowed at Ash.

"W-Well I love eating, we eat in our bedroom, May does get hungry, you could have a baby from hunger, my mother was once hungry, and she had to eat in order to have me so…"

"Ash, that doesn't even make any sense. How could you have a baby from hunger?"

"You have to eat in order to support the baby, May. If you don't, it will die from starvation!" Ash said defensively.

"Ash…I'm not even gonna respond to that. All in all, I got so frustrated I ended up telling Ash I was pregnant. I said: _Pregnant Ash! Pregnant! You have to be pregnant in order to have a baby!_ His response: _My mother's pregnant? When did this happen? _After that, I just lost it. I kept screaming at him that I was pregnant, not his mother. That us having sex made me pregnant. That his mother had to be pregnant in order to have him, and that I was pregnant all over again."

"Wow Ash…I…don't even know what to say…I mean, I knew you were dense, but…"

"Misty! We are done talking about that! Can we please move on?"

"Move on to what?"

"Move on to how you and Paul became a couple," Brock said with a raised eyebrow.

"W-Wha…"

"Yeah Misty, why don't you tell us how you two became an item," Ash said, feeling the color returning his face.

"Uh…Well…"

"That's none of your damn business!"

"Paul_…_don't tempt me…" Misty said with frustration.

Paul, knowing full well that Misty would whack him with her mallet in a heartbeat if she felt threatened, just scowled and folded his arm.

"Paul and I met in Sinnoh…"

"They know that, genius…"

"Paul, I'm not gonna ask you again!"

"Why were you in Sinnoh, Misty?" May asked, not wanting to witness any more disconcert between the two. It was somewhat unsettling for her.

"Well, I went there for some more water pokémon for the gym..."

"Surprise, surprise," Paul said apathetically.

"When I got there I saw the cutest water pokémon there."

"What was it?"

"A Finneon! And I saw a Shiny Vaporeon there too! I just had to have them!"

"How does Paul fit into all this?"

"I was getting to that, Ash!"

The harshness in her voice caused Ash to sweatdrop.

"Same ole' Misty," He said inadvertently.

Misty, however, heard his statement and whipped out her mallet. Ash began to panic.

"Misty! Misty! I'm with child! I'm with child!" He cried out, pointing to May's belly for emphasis.

Misty, seeing as she couldn't whack him with her mallet, scowled and put it away, much to Ash's relief.

"Anyway, when I saw the pair, I knew we belonged together. So I took out Politoed's and Corsola's pokéballs to prepare for battle. That was when Paul showed up."

Paul huffs at this.

"Without warning, he just attacked those poor pokémon with his Electabuzz, telling it to use Thunderbolt. Fortunately, the Vaporeon saw it coming and it protected itself and Finneon with Acid Armor. After that, the Vaporeon and Finneon disappeared under the water. That's when Paul and I got into an argument."

**Misty's Flashback**

"Finneon! Vaporeon!" Misty cried out as she saw the two water pokémon dive down deep under the water. How was she gonna catch them now? Misty looked up at the man who had driven away her potential pokémon.

"Hey you! I was gonna catch those pokémon!"

The man just stared blankly at her before looking back to where the pokémon had disappeared.

"C'mon Electabuzz. They'll be heading down south to route 220."

"Excuse me!"

"What?"

"What? What do you mean, what? Just who the hell do you think you're talking to?"

"Look lady, I don't particularly care who you are. But I see two strong pokémon that I want to catch."

"What? I was here first, buster! I saw those pokémon first! So..."

"You don't get it, do you? Those pokémon are mine. I've been camping out here for three days straight to see what those two were capable of and I've seen enough to know that they will make good powerhouses in my team. Go to the Iron Windworks if you want a Finneon or Vaporeon. These two are mine."

"Look buddy, I don't…"

"Electabuzz! Thunderbolt that bitch and shut her up!"

"Elec-ta-BUZZ!" cried the humanoid/feline electric pokémon, an electrical charge escaping from his antennas and off his body toward the red-headed girl.

Misty screamed in terror, preparing for the shock to strike and envelop her body. However, before it could make contact, a brilliant light was shown from one of her pokéballs, soon materializing into a blue pokémon with sleek blue fur, webbed feet, and hands. It had a red gem in the center of its forehead and a long blue tail. Seeing the oncoming attack on her human, the blue pokémon quickly used Protect, enveloping herself and Misty in a huge green orb until the attack ceased.

When Misty opened her eyes, she saw the creature that protected her from harm.

"Golduck?"

"Gol-Golduck." She replied cheerily, giving her human a salute before going back in her pokeball.

"How pathetic. Your own pokémon had to come out and protect you because you were too stupid to dodge it yourself."

"Why you…"

"You're wasting my time. I have two very important pokémon to catch." And with that, Paul turned around and headed out to find the two aquatic pokémon he so carelessly attacked earlier.

"Hey you. How 'bout you and I have a battle. I win, I get the pokémon. You win, you get them and I'll get out of your hair," Misty shouted while holding a pokeball in her hand.

Paul briefly turned around to see who this girl was who kept on provoking him. Just as quickly as he opened his eyes, he closed them, smirking in the process.

"Please, you're not worth my time, loser. Battling you will be a waste."

"Then there's no way you can lose, is there? Two-on-Two. You and me," Misty said as she grabbed a second pokeball in her hand.

"Hump. You wanna go ahead suffer a humiliating defeat, fine by me," Paul said as he jumped off the edge of the boulder he was standing on to go meet this girl.

"Well?" Misty said impatiently.

"Ladies first."

"Ugh. Politoed! Gyarados! Let's Go!" Misty screamed as she threw the two pokéballs. A large blue dragon-like pokémon and a green frog materialized onto the battlefield.

Paul smirks at Misty's choice in pokémon.

"You're choosing two pokémon of the same type? That's not a very good strategy."

"Instead of criticizing me, maybe you could put out your own pokémon so that we can get this battle started already."

"Hump…Electabuzz! Torterra! Standby!" Paul said as he too threw his two pokéballs. The humanoid/feline electric pokémon from earlier and a large green tortoise/ ankylosaur with an enormous tree on its back materialized onto the battlefield.

"Politoed, use Psychic on Electabuzz! Gyarados, use Flamethrower on Torterra! Let's go!"

Politoed was enveloped in a powder blue hue before releasing that energy toward the electric pokémon. Gyarados let loose a stream of fire that was aimed for the large grass tortoise. Both targets hit their mark, however, both Electabuzz and Torterra were unaffected and shook off the attack, shocking both Misty and her pokémon.

"What? It didn't have any effect on either one of them?"

Paul just smirked and lowered his head.

"Humph…Electabuzz, use Discharge. Torterra, use Wood Hammer."

Electabuzz charges, then releases electricity, inflicting damage on all the other pokémon on the field. Politoed and Gyarados cry out in pain as Torterra just stands there, unaffected by the electrical attack. Just as soon as Electabuzz finished his attack, Torterra launched his, letting loose an array of logs on the tired water pokémon. The attack causes the pokemon to cry out in pain again. Torterra winces as the recoil of the attack took effect on him.

"Politoed! Gyarados!" Misty cried as she watched her pokémon gasp for breath.

"Wow. Looks like this battle will be over than quicker I thought," Paul smirked as he looked at the field again.

Misty, growling at Paul's remark, gave her pokémon their next attack.

"Politoed, use Giga Impact on Electabuzz! Gyarados, use Stone Edge on Torterra!"

The small frog pokemon forced herself off the ground and began to spin, while the large blue atrocious pokémon glowed a dark hue as she sent an array of large rocks toward the grass/ground pokémon. Politoed then launched herself toward Electabuzz and prepared for the impact.

Paul smirked again at Misty at her attempts to launch an attack on his pokémon.

"Electabuzz, use Thunder Punch. Torterra, Leaf Storm."

Electabuzz ran toward the spinning frog-like pokémon as he began charging his arm. Torterra bellowed out as he surrounded himself in a vortex of leaves before sending them off towards the large blue serpent.

"Electa…"

"Po-oli…"

The two pokémon cried as they collided, while the other two send their attacks.

"BUZZ!"

"TOED!"

"TOR!"

"ARR!"

There was a huge explosion as the two pokémon collided, the force of their attacks sending one another back. Gyarados and Torterra cried out as they were hit by the other's attack.

When the smoke cleared, both Gyarados and Electabuzz had fainted. Politoed was down on one knee, while Torterra was breathing heavily.

"You were great, Gyarados. Now take a nice long rest," Misty said as she recalled her fainted pokémon.

"Hump…I'll deal with you later," Paul mumbled as he recalled his pokémon.

There was a long pause before Misty spoke to her pokémon again.

"Alright. It's all you, Politoed."

"Poli."

"Torterra, you better not mess this up."

"Tor."

"Now, Politoed! Use Ice Beam!"

Politoed began absorbing energy, then launched a beam of solid ice towards the large pokémon.

"Torterra! Intercept it with Solar Beam!"

Torterra began charging energy for his next attack. As he did this, Politoed's Ice Beam hit him square in the chest. Torterra cried in pain as he felt a portion of his body freeze from the ongoing attack. When the attack ceased, all of Torterra's chest and one of his front legs were frozen.

Paul grimaced as he saw the display.

"Torterra, now! Use Solar Beam!"

The tortoise pokémon launched a beam of solar energy toward the frog-like pokémon. Politoed cried out as the attack hit its mark. Politoed fell towards the ground struggling to get back up.

"Poli…"

"Politoed! Are you okay?"

"Pol…"

"Politoed, you've got to get up!"

Politoed struggled to get back on her feet. As this was happening, Paul scolded Torterra as he too started to fall to the ground.

"Torterra! Get up and continue this fight!

"Tor…"

Misty was beginning to panic. Politoed was getting weak. Too weak. She knew she couldn't continue this battle much longer. She could see those pokémon slipping from her grasp. Misty knew that if she didn't figure out something soon, she'll lose the battle and lose the Finneon and Shiny Vaporeon she wanted so badly.

"Alright. Politoed! Run towards Torterra! Then use Bounce to get up high in the sky!"

"Pol. Poli…"

The frog-like pokémon ran towards the large tortoise, gaining momentum as she launched herself high in the air above Torterra.

Paul, seeing this, ordered Toterra his next attack.

"Torterra! Use Leaf Storm now!"

The large pokémon bellowed as he released the array of leaves again. It only being the second time used, Leaf Storm was still a powerful enough attack to knock Politoed out.

Sweat began to trickle down Politoed's face as she saw the green vortex come towards her.

"Now Politoed! Use the force from that Leaf Storm and use Mega Kick!"

"Politoed did what her trainer asked her as her foot began to glow. As the vortex surrounded her, Politoed kicked off one of the walls and launched herself forward as she dived down towards the large grass pokémon at impregnable speeds.

Paul looked at the ongoing attack ominously. He knew that if that attack hit, it would be over. He knew that at that speed and force, Politoed would not yield if he launched an attack, but he had to do something and quick.

"Torterra! Use Wood Hammer on the vortex now!"

Torterra didn't move.

"Torterra!"

Torterra looked in horror at the little frog who was gaining on him at such speed. She had determination in her eyes, and from the speed she was going, there was no way he could deflect the attack. Too afraid to move, he looked at her in horror, knowing that it was over.

"Torterra!"

Paul was about to go strangle his pokémon for disobeying him. Why wasn't he listening? He knew he heard him. Paul was in a panic. He was about to lose the battle. He had to break Toterra's trance, otherwise, his two powerhouse pokémon would be out the window.

"Torterra! Attack Now!

Torterra remained there, unmoved.

Misty took this chance to launch her final attack.

"Now Politoed! Use Ice Beam!"

The frog pokémon began charging, waiting until she was at a satisfying distance to launch her attack. As soon as she was in his face, Politoed released the beam of ice, right in Torterra's face.

Torterra cried in pain as the force of the attack sent him flying towards a cliff wall, crashing into it, and causing a huge cloud of dust to form around him.

When the smoke cleared, Torterra laid there on the ground, the look on his face unmistakable. The spirals-for-eyes—a clear indication of a knockout.

Paul grimaced when he saw his tortoise on the ground. It was over. He had lost. A humiliating defeat, from this random girl who just snatched his powerhouse pokémon away from him just like that. He couldn't believe it. Torterra would definitely suffer the consequences later on.

Misty looked on, awestruck at how her planned worked out. It had started off with just a Mega Kick in the chest. But after witnessing Politoed's determination, she decided that she should do something more. Something that would guarantee her win. So when Politoed got close enough, she put that final phase into action and told her pokémon to use Ice Beam. It was a stretch, but Politoed could pull off.

And she did! She won!

Misty looked at her faithful companion, tears welling in her eyes. The look on her Pokémon's face mirrored hers.

They did it. They won.

Misty, so overwhelmed with emotions, ran up to her partner and enveloped her in a Snorlax-sized hug.

"We did it, Politoed! We won! Oh Politoed, I love you so much!"

"Poli-Politoed!"

Paul looked on at the display with pure disgust as he recalled his exhausted and compunctious pokémon back.

"I'll deal with you later."

Paul walked up to the girl who had cost him his two new pokémon.

"I'm going to Lake Valor. It's rumored that a legendary pokémon lives there. I'm gonna go see if I can add it to my team. I have too many weaklings and they're intervening with my primary objective."

Misty looked up in confusion at the guy she had just beaten. He didn't even congratulate her on her win. Come to think of it, he didn't even bring up the battle at all. He talked to her as if it'd never happened. After he bad-mouthed her so much beforehand. What was with this guy?

Wiping her tears, Misty stood up with an outstretched hand, prepared to shake her opponent's hand.

"That was a good battle. You and your pokémon are pretty strong. I didn't think we'd make it out of this one," She said cheerily.

Paul just turned his head away with a 'Humph' at this girl's modesty.

To say Paul's actions upset Misty was an understatement. Who does this guy think he is?

"Are you gonna be a sore loser about this or…"

"Sore loser?"

"Well that's how you're acting! If you're upset that you lost…"

"I didn't lose! My pokémon just didn't listen to me! I would've won if that dumb-ass did what I told him to do! But he freaked!"

"How could you call your pokémon a dumb-ass? If you're upset about what happened that's one thing. Bad-mouthing your pokémon is something completely different. If you're hurting you could at least talk…"

"There's nothing to talk about! You won! You get the Finneon and Vaporeon! End of discussion! I don't give a damn what you do now or if you catch those pokémon! I've moved on! They're not worth my time anyway."

And with that, Paul turned around and began to walk away from her.

Misty face turned red as the anger inside her started to build, causing her Politoed, who, in all the excitement, she had forgotten to recall, to get a worried a expression on her face.

"That's it! Just what the hell is your problem buddy?"

"You're my problem bitch! Why the f—k do you keep talking to me? Leave me…"

"No, the hell I won't! Just what is your deal?"

"Will you just…"

"Shut up! You had your time to talk, buster! Now it's my turn!"

"The hell it's your f—king turn! I…"

Paul was cut off as the burning feeling of a slap across his face from Misty caused his jaw to swell.

"What the fu…"

"I said shut up! Now I don't give a damn who you are or what the hell you've been through, no one deserves to be talked to the way you talk to your pokémon!"

"Look, you little…"

Paul again was cut off as Misty delivered another slap to his now red cheeks.

"You barbarous bastard! How the hell can you treat your pokémon like that! I mean…"

It was Misty's turn to shut up as Paul punched Misty square in the jaw.

"Just what the f—k is your problem, lady? You don't know shit about me or my pokémon! So you shut that behemothic hole in your face you call a mouth and leave me the f—k alone!"

"Look buddy…"

"Why don't you go jump a lake with all your aquatic friends where you belong and leave me the f—k alone!"

"Just what do you have against me, huh? I'm trying to help you!"

"If I wanted your help, bitch, I would have asked for it!"

"What the hell is your problem?"

"I'm not the one with the problem!"

"Uha! Look you stubborn bastard, I…"

Misty was cut off as a pair of warm lips met hers. Paul suddenly had his mouth over hers. Paul, so overwhelmed with emotions, pushed his tongue through the crevice of her mouth, exploring it before stretching to get to the back of her throat.

Too confused to do anything else, Misty just allowed him to explore her mouth further, enjoying the feeling of his tongue in her mouth. What was she doing? She should have shoved him off of her, slapped him in the face, kicked him in the crotch, and stormed off. Yet, she didn't. She let him kiss her. And she was enjoying it!

Politoed just sat there, awestruck and disgusted at the same time. She really did not want to see this! Before, she was scared that her trainer and the purple-haired freak would 'take the field' and assault each other. But looking at them now, Politoed wished they had just taken it out on one another and been done with it. She really wished that that purple-haired freak wasn't hovering over her pokeball.

When Paul pulled away, both trainers were blushing feverishly and had a look of pure embarrassment on their faces. Several moments passed before anything was said between them. Finally, Misty broke the awkward silence.

"Um…"

"Uh…"

The silence lasted only briefly.

"Uh…"

"Yeah…"

"I…uh…gotta go…" Paul said unsteadily. He turned around and started to walk away before Misty called out to him.

"W-Wait!"

Paul, somewhat pleased that she did, turned around and walked back to her.

"Uh…"

"I, uh…"

"Can I, uh…"

"Come with me to catch my new pokémon?"

"Uh, yeah…"

"Yes…"

"Oh…uh…"

"You're welcome."

"Uh…yeah…"

"So…you have a name?"

"…Paul…"

"I'm Misty."

"Misty, huh?"

"Uh huh."

"…Well, I guess we'd better get going, if you wanna catch those pokémon before some other dainty skank does," Paul said with a smirk.

"What?"

"Humph…you probably wouldn't even know where to find them."

"Why you! You…"

Misty didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as Paul leisurely walked away, leaving her standing there dumbfounded.

"Oh, you…you…arg! Can you believe this Politoed! Grrr….He is the most obnoxious, self-centered, freak I've ever met!"

Politoed just rolled her eyes at her trainer's remark. _If that's true then why were you just smacking lips with him._

"Hurry up, _Misty_. If you don't want those pokémon, I'll just take them for myself!"

"That! That! Arg! C'mon Politoed. You're probably tired by now. You should take a nice long rest," Misty said to her pokémon while holding her pokeball up.

Politoed rolled her eyes once more and shook her head before returning into her pokeball. _Whatever. I don't want to see you swapping saliva with him again anyway. Plus, I'm bushed. _

"Humph…I guess those pokémon are mine then."

Misty looked up to see that Paul was already miles ahead her, staring at her scornfully.

'_This guy is something else….And yet, I feel somewhat attracted to him,'_ Misty thought to herself with a smile. She began to get a warm feeling when Paul interrupted her thoughts.

"I'm outta here. Looks those pokémon are as good as mine."

"Hey, you better not touch one scale on my Finneon and Shiny Vaporeon!" Misty screamed as she ran after Paul.

Paul shook his head and continued his walk.

'_This red-head is the weirdest chick I've ever met…And for some reason, I'm find myself strangely attracted to her,'_ Paul thought to himself.

Paul turned around to see if this girl had gotten any further to him. Misty, in her haste to prevent Paul from catching her pokémon, had tripped over a Hippopotas and fell face-first into a huge pool of mud. Frustrated by her predicament, Misty stood back up, grumbling to herself, only to slip and fall back down.

Paul just shook his head and kept on walking.

"Humph. Clumsy, unorthodox, and cute. This'll be fun."

**End Flashback**

"Ever since then, Paulie and I have been inseparable."

"Dammit, Misty! Why won't you listen to me?"

"Gee Paul, I didn't think you could be such a softy. Not to mention be so bold as to kiss Misty."

"Up yours, Ketchum."

"Hey, no need to be so smug, _Paulie_."

"F—k you!"

"Paul! What's wrong with you?"

"Yeah Paul, where's your Christmas spirit?"

"Man, whatever. I need a drink."

"Paul, you promised you'd stay sober this year!"

"Sorry babe, but I need a shot. I…"

Paul was cut off as Misty gasped.

"You called me babe. And with company!"

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did!"

"No I didn't."

"You did, _Paulie_. We all heard you call Misty your…"

"Ketchum, if you say one word, I swear…"

Paul was cut off as Misty grabbed him into a huge bear hug.

"Oh, you are in for a special treat tonight!"

"Misty…Oh, Eww! Eww! Eww! I just got a mental picture! Ahh! Get it out! Get it out!" Ash screamed as he grasped his head.

"AHH! Get it out! Get it out!"

Pikachu, seeing Ash's distress, decided to relinquish his trainer's suffering by hitting him with a Thunderbolt. When his attack ceased, Ash fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Ash!"

May ran towards her husband and shook him vigorously, trying desperately to revive him.

"Ash, baby, please wake up!"

"Pikachu! Pika Pi Pika!" _Pikachu, what have you done! You could have killed him! _Plusle exclaimed to her mate.

"P-Pi…Pi Pika. Pika Pikachu, Pi…Pi Pika. Pika chu-uu." _N-No…I didn't. I would never, I mean…Ash is okay. I know he is._

"Ash! Ash!"

"Pika…" _Ash…_

"W-Wha?" Ash mumbled.

"Ash!"

"May, wha? Why are you…"

"Oh Ash! I thought I lost you!" May cried as she embraced her husband.

"Okay, one, you'd never lose me, okay, that's never gonna happen. And two, May, you're not supposed to be kneeling on the floor like that."

"Oh Ash…"

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu exclaimed as he ran up to his trainer.

"Hey, buddy!"

"Pika, Pi Pikachu!"

"Hey, thanks for that buddy. I really needed it!"

"Pikachu."

"Anyway we better get going, May."

"You two going somewhere?"

"Yeah, Brock. I promised the most beautiful woman in the world that I'd take her for a walk before we got settled here for Christmas. It'd be better if I took her now before Caroline and Mom finish making Christmas Dinner."

"Well, I don't know who she is, but I know you better take me for my walk first. I am your wife, or did you forget?"

"What? May, what are you…"

"You're leaving?" Caroline asked as she stepped out of the kitchen, a bowl of some kind of sauce in her hands.

"Just a little drive, then a walk, Caroline. We'll be back soon."

"Okay. And Ash, what have I told you about calling me that?"

"Oh…uh…M-Mom 2?"

"Mom 2?"

"Sorry, it's just a little difficult for me to call you Mom since I already call my mom Mom, yah know?"

"Fine. We'll keep working on it. You kids go ahead and have fun."

"Mom, we're not kids anymore."

"Ain't that the truth."

"We'll be back soon. Bye."

"Pika Pi!"

The little electric mouse shouted as he ran up towards his trainer and up his shoulder.

"You coming with, Pikachu?"

"Pika!"

"You coming too, Plusle?"

The female mouse looked up at her trainer before looking back towards the living room. With a casual shake of the head, the mouse gave her trainer a warm smile.

"Guess she's had enough of the coldness."

"May!"

"Yes Baby?"

"You're not seriously going to where those shoes outside are you?" Ash exclaimed as he pointed at May's emerald green Quai D'Orsay high heels.

"You're kidding right? I spent $265.00 on these shoes to wear for the Christmas holiday and I'm gonna wear them!"

"But May…"

"Ash, these are pure silk shoes. Quai D'Orsay's silk shoes. Quai D'Orsay's silk high heel shoes. One of the most expensive shoes in Paris and are extremely hard to get. Very few are left which would make these one of the rarest, most valuable shoes in the world. In other words, Ashy…shut the hell up and let me out cause there's no way in Hell that I'm not wearing these shoes."

"But May…"

"Ash, Honey, Baby…we both know you're not gonna win this fight so please can we go for our walk now?"

"May, think of the baby."

"…Ash, no…"

"What were to happen if you were exposed to too much coldness? You would most likely get hypothermia or pneumonia."

"Ash no, don't do this…"

"What if the baby was affected by it?"

"Ash…"

"Don't you know you're in a state where your condition is very delicate? You have to build up enough resistance for not only yourself but for the baby as well. What if…."

"So, you're calling me a bad mother, aren't you?"

"Oh No, No, No! I would never say that! I'm just saying…"

"That I don't know how to take care of myself?"

"N-No! I just meant…"

"That I don't know how to take care of our child?"

"No. I just…"

"Who by the way is not born yet?"

"M-May…"

"Which would make the situation worse?"

"May I…"

"Ash, I may not be the perfect wife or lover but how the hell can you question if I'm even a good mother or not if I haven't even experienced motherhood yet?"

"I…I…"

"How could you be so cruel? I thought you had more faith in me?"

"I do…"

"So all those stupid classes we took on _How to be the Perfect Parents_ were just a waste of our freaking time then huh?"

"M-Ma…"

Ash was starting to get nervous. He knew it was the hormones talking but he was still scared. Luckily, Dawn came to his rescue.

"Hey May, I have some Women's Mossimo® Kaila Tall Boots here you could wear."

May's anger instantly melted as she snapped her head back at her long time friend.

"Shut up! Serious?"

"Uh-Huh."

"Where'd you buy?"

"I didn't! Paris gave these to me. Said it was a gift for helping her get her pick out a design for the dresses her and her Lopunny were to wear at the Coordinators awards ceremony."

"The Pokémon Stylist herself? And you didn't pay?"

"Well, considering how much they originally cost no! I got a good deal. I only paid $69.88 for it!"

"_My_ $69.88," Damian grumbled to himself.

"Really?"

"Yeah! You could have them if you want. They're tan. Or some kind of brown. No offense to Paris, but I prefer pink or black."

"Seriously, Dawn? You're giving them to me?"

"Uh-Huh. You'd look so cute in them."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Ahh! I'm gonna go put these on right now! Here, Ash, hold my purse!" May shoved her purse in Ash's arms as she sprinted—for a pregnant woman—over to Dawn to try on her new boots.

Ash let out a sigh of relief and made a mental note to thank Dawn later.

It didn't take May long to put on Dawn's boots. She squealed with excitement as she walked back over to her husband.

"Oh Dawn, I love them!"

"I knew you would. They are so you. See, if I put them on, I would look a hot mess. You, on the other hand, are rockin' them!"

"Thank you, Dawn! They're so cute! Aren't they cute, Baby?" May asked her husband.

"Yeah…Well, see yah, guys. We'll be back soon," Ash said as he opened the door for May.

"Hurry back, honey."

"Yes, Mom."

"Bye, Ash."

"Bye," Ash said to his friend as he walked out the door.

Dawn, feeling left out since the last conversation, not counting the one she just had with May, decided to start another one.

"So Max, how'd you do in the Pokémon League?"

Max's cheery expression from earlier formed first into one of confusion, then into a deep frown.

"Aww man, don't remind me."

"What, did you lose?" Paul asked apathetically.

"Yeah. And it bugs me so much! I was so close! I made it all the way to the finals! Sceptile and Gallade worked so hard! They were so close to pulling off a victory!"

"But you lost."

"It was so close; they had to do a frame-by-frame play since it was a double knock out. They said that my Sceptile fell half a second earlier than Tommy's Floatzel. But I know what I saw! They fell simultaneously! At the same time! Neither one fell before the other. That…"

"Wait a minute…you had an advantage and you still lost? What was the other pokémon he used?"

"Rhyperior, why?"

"Those were the last two pokémon he had left and you still lost? With a huge advantage like that? Wow, you're even worse a trainer than that loser Ketchum."

"Hey! My pokémon worked very hard to win that battle…"

"But you lost. That's means that either you're a loser trainer or your pokémon are weak."

"My pokémon are not weak!"

"Then you must be a suckish trainer."

"You should know!"

"Stop it, you two! That's enough!" said Misty.

"Yeah! You're acting like a bunch of nimrods." shouted Dawn.

"Who the f—k you calling a nimrod, bitch…"

"Oh, hell no! I know this bastard didn't just call my girl a bitch!"

"Who you calling a bastard, jackass?"

"Jackass! Why…"

"Um, Brock? Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, Max?"

"How is it that as loud as Paul is, and all the swearing he does, that Mom and Delia still haven't heard a single thing since they've been in the kitchen?"

"You know Max, I really don't know."

Brock and Max just sighed as the ongoing onslaught between Paul and Damian continued. This wasn't starting out as a very merry Christmas.

* * *

A/N: And that concludes Part 1 of _A Christmas to Remember_. Hoped you all liked it. I know there may be some confusion about some of the shippings I used here. Don't worry about it. I'll explain it better when I start writing the fics that include them. They'll each have their own story. And for those of you who read this attentively, then you'd have seen that I gave out a few hints as to what transpires in some of my future fics.

Anyway, I'll try to post the next chapter up soon. And don't forget to review! Love you all! And a Very Merry Christmas to you all!


	2. Battlefield

A/N: Hey Everyone! Here's Part 2 of A Christmas to Remember. There's a lot more drama in this segment than in the previous chapter. The humor only comes at the end of the chappy. Again, I stress that strong profanity is used towards the end of the chapter so if you feel I should up the rating to M, please let me know.

So, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Part 2 of A Christmas to Remember.

* * *

"I don't get it, Ash. How do two people like Paul and Misty become a couple?"

"Well, they're both alike. They're both bossy, pushy, conceited…"

"Ash, you just described Misty."

"Yeah, but it's a hell of a lot better than describing Paul. I mean, you can't say the guy's name without putting 'A-hole' or 'ungrateful bastard' in front of it."

May just shook her head and continued walking beside her husband. Their walk so far had been pleasant. All night they'd been talking about their friends and how perfect they were together, about their new baby, and how nervous they were of becoming parents.

For some unknown reason, Ash decided to drive to Mauville City and start their walk there. She didn't ask questions and just followed his lead. She trusted him with all her heart. If she didn't, she wouldn't have married him.

"Remember this place, May?" Ash asked as he pointed to a lake not far from Mauville.

"This is where we saw the Illumise and Volbeat perform when we traveled here so many years ago."

"And?"

"It's the same place you proposed to me last year," May said with a smile.

"How right you are, Babe. Remember what I did?"

"How could I forget? You had set up a surprise for all the Illumise and Volbeat to do a little dance show that spelled out 'Will You Marry Me'."

"Right again."

"I'll never forget that night. This forest holds so many memories."

"And it's about to hold another one."

May furrowed her brow and looked at her husband with bewilderment, confusion clearly evident on her face.

Ash just gave her a warm smile and took her hands.

"Look up, May. What do you see?"

May looked up at the sky just like he told her, but all she saw was the dark blue evening sky, and the bright stars that seemed to twinkle with delight.

"Ash, I don't see anything."

"Look again."

May looked up again. She noticed that one star was shinning brighter than the others. Then May something that nearly caused her to jump out of her skin.

The star moved!

The little star moved up, and then down. And then left, and then right. It kept doing those same movements until the stars surrounding it started doing those very movements.

May stared up at the display in confusion.

"Ash…wha…?"

"Keep looking, May."

May looked back up at the sky, confusion still evident on her features.

The stars continued to dance. May noticed that while they were dancing, they started to change form. Before they were just dazzling constellations in the sky. Now, they were starting to form something. When May looked again, she noticed that they were forming into a human.

As they continued to dance, the form of the human became more visible: A woman. She was looking down at something in her arms, but May couldn't quite make out what it was.

Something began to form beside the woman. Another human. More specifically, a man. He too was looking down at something. When the stars started their alignment again, May noticed that another thing was forming below that man and woman but couldn't make it out at all. The stars were beginning to fade away. What was happening?

May turned to her husband again.

Ash just gave her a warm smile, and then looked down at his faithful pokémon.

"Pikachu?"

Pikachu nodded at his trainer, knowing what he what he wanted him to do as they rehearsed it several times.

Pikachu began running, soon being surrounded by electrical energy from charging up his Volt Tackle. He then jumped into the air and released a mighty Thunderbolt.

The Thunderbolt hit one of the stars and the force of the attack caused it to brighten up, releasing the electricity to another star, and then another, and then another. The cycle continued until all the stars in the sky were firmly lit, and the image of the picture May had seen was clearly visible.

May gasped at what she saw.

There in the sky, was not only a picture of a man and woman, but of Ash and May. It was them! Sitting beside each other. And the little image that she couldn't make out earlier also became clearer.

It was a baby! A little sleeping baby being held in May's arms. That's who the two of them were looking at. And beneath all three of them was a message spelled out. It read:_ To my loving wife. Our new family. Ash, May, and baby Sebastian/Mozzelle._

May was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to say. She turned to look at her husband who gave her another smile and grasped her hands once more.

"Not done yet, Babe. Look back up."

May, slowly looked back up to see a sea of Tropius and Altaria flying in the air towards them. They separated into two groups on either side of the image Pikachu and the stars had just created. The Tropius released an array of Petal Dance and Razor Leaf, while the Altaria released a furry of feathers from Feather Dance and Gust. The two attacks collided, framing the picture with beautiful leaves and down.

Now there was a huge picture of Ash, May, and their baby in the sky, being framed beautifully by glistening leaves and feathers.

May felt her tears welling up in her eyes and flow graciously down her face. She turned her head to meet her husband's eyes. He gave her a warm smile and mouthed the words 'I Love You'.

"Oh Ash…" She began to say.

Kissing her hands, Ash looked at his wife, then pointed up. May wondered what else he could possibly have planned. Slowly she looked up again. She saw one of the Tropius hovering above her. It had a mistletoe around its neck and a huge smile on its face.

May just shook her head and gazed back at her husband. Ash, still wearing that warm smile, had an amorous look on his face.

"Merry Christmas, Baby."

May wasted no time in kissing her husband. They held each other in a firm embrace for several moments. Pikachu looked at his trainer and friend with a huge grin on his face. They looked so good together.

When the two let go of each other, they looked at each other lovingly.

"Ash…how…how did you…"

Ash's smile widened as looked into his wife's sapphire-blue eyes.

"Look carefully, May. What do you see behind the stars?"

May looked back up at the display of stars. When she examined them more closely, she saw that the white stars were actually the wings of Swablu. Behind them were Illumise and Volbeat with brightly lit tails, smiling and waving at her.

"Wha…Ash…"

"I pulled a few strings."

"How…"

"The pokémon didn't get shocked? Well, I made sure all the Swablu knew Steel Wing. That way, when Pikachu released his Thunderbolt, it would absorb the shock and the Volbeat, Illumise, and Swablu were all safe."

"I…I…"

"Don't think it was as easy as it looked, either. It took a lot of practice to get the alignment just perfect. The frame was just a bonus, but it was just as hard to come up with. It took forever to get Pikachu to shoot his Thunderbolt just far enough to hit them and still have enough strength to continue that cycle. Let me tell you…"

May put her finger on Ash's lips, then kissed him softly. Ash took the hint, and instinctively put his hands around her waist.

Pikachu, still smiling at the whole thing, perked his ears up, listening for something. He couldn't quite understand what it was. He felt almost as if someone else was there. But he just shook it off, and continued to look at the happy couple.

It was several moments before they separated again. It was Ash who spoke first.

"What was that for?"

"For being the greatest husband a girl could ever want."

"Well, I don't know about the greatest husband."

"Oh Ash…"

May was cut off as a fury of sharp leaves flew between the couple and almost slit her throat. She let off a shrill scream as she fell into Ash's arms, trembling, while the all the pokémon in the sky feverishly flew away to get away from harm and to a safer location.

"May, are you alright?" Ash asked, concern clearly in his voice.

"I…I think so."

Ash looked up with anger in his eyes at where the attack had come from.

"Who's there?"

Ash was answered by an array of purple poisonous pins, which was launched in his direction.

Seeing the attack, he grabbed May and pulled her to the side, Pikachu dodging in the opposite direction.

Ash held May firmly in his arms as he looked back to where the attack came from. He repeated his question.

"Who's there? Reveal yourself!"

Pikachu ran in front of Ash and May, ready to fight what he thought he had sensed earlier.

His only answer was a menacing laugh as a voice called out to him.

"Over here, hun!"

A cold chill ran down Ash and May's spine when they heard that word. The same cold chill that ran down Brock's and Max's own spines long ago.

'It can't be,' May thought to herself.

Slowly, they turned around. Their eyes widened when they saw who stood there.

Before them stood a tall man with long purple hair that flowed down to the middle of his back. He was dressed in a white tuxedo, and wore a purple bow tie with matching purple dress shoes. He had a sinister smile on his face, his green eyes full of contempt.

"Harley?" May shrieked.

"That's right, bitch! Your old friend is back to wish you a very merry Christmas."

"What do you want?" Ash shouted, taking a defensive position in front of May.

"Why, revenge, of course, sweetie-pie. All those years your little trick spent humiliating me and my darling pokémon. All those years of putting up with her and her damn her pokémon. All those years of being the stupid bitch that you are! Well, all of my hard work is about to pay off cause I taste revenge, honey, and boy, is it sweet!"

Ash shakes his head at Harley's lame attempt for a joke.

"Look you flamboyant faggot, you do not want to mess with me right now! You just spoiled a special evening I had planned for me and May! Do you know how hard it was to even get the right pokémon to do this? Do know how freaking long it took me to set this up?"

"Why does everyone keep calling me that? I am not gay! I'm metrosexual! Whatever. It won't matter once I eliminate you and your little girltoy."

"Who the hell says that?"

"I say it!"

"Harley, please. It's Christmas."

"How right you are, sweetie. I…" It was then that Harley realized May's 'condition'.

"Good Lord, May! What happened to you? Did you swallow a Munchlax or something, you're freakin' huge!"

May crossed her arms at Harley's remark.

"Humph, well I guess someone like you wouldn't know what pregnancy is. Or maybe you do? Ever felt any soreness or tenderness in your breasts? Have you ever felt sick in the morning? Are you still on your period?"

"Enough with the jokes about my sexual character!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Guess you must be sensitive about that. I know how gender-confused you are. But you better figure out your sexuality soon, Harley. Don't wanna hit 40 and still not know if you're pitching or catching."

"That's it! Ariados! Poison Sting, now!"

The large red spider stepped in front of his trainer and released another array of poisonous pins at May. Ash again pushed her out of the way, while Pikachu dodged to a parallel side.

"Aww, we missed. How's that possible, being as large as you are?"

"Oh, go f—k yourself, you homophile pansy!"

"Ooo! Hoenn's little princess has a potty-mouth."

"You little…"

"Cacturne! Pin Missle!"

The humanoid cactus-like pokémon appeared in front of his trainer and released a fury of pins at the couple. Once again, Ash, May, and Pikachu dodge the attack, but May falls to the ground this time. Ash was at her side in a heartbeat, his eyes full of concern as he gently helped her sit up. Anger filled his eyes after he realized she was okay.

"Harley, you son of a bitch!"

Harley just begins laughing menacingly.

"If you think this is over yet, you're sadly mistaken. The battle's only just begun. Now, Ariados, use Poison Sting once more!"

The spider-like pokémon again shoots out a fury of poisonous pins at May.

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt, now!"

"Pika! Pika-CHUU!"

The electric mouse released a mighty Thunderbolt towards the array of flying pins. The colliding attacks cause a huge explosion and a cloud of smoke to form.

"Oh, no fair! This doesn't concern you boy! Why are you intervening with my objective to teach this bitch a lesson, huh?"

Ash got to his feet and stared Harley down. He didn't respond but gave Pikachu his next attack.

"Thunder, Pikachu!"

Pikachu again released a Thunderbolt at the demented man, only more forceful.

"Humph. Alright. I got game. Let's play! Ariados, Shadowball! Cacturne, Bullet Seed!"

Ariados and Cacturne did what their trainer asked them, releasing a black ball of energy and an array of seeds at May.

"Thunderbolt, Piakchu!"

Again, Pikachu released a lightning bolt at the oncoming attack and again they collided and caused a huge explosion.

"Oh, you're no fun! Wigglytuff! Come on out here and spice things up a bit!" Harley called as he threw the pokeball.

A large blob of pink fur with bunny-like ears materialized in front of Harley.

"Hidden Power!"

Wigglytuff's eyes began glowing as white circles of mysterious energy began circling him in an X formation. Wigglytuff then released that energy toward Pikachu. The attack hit its mark and Pikachu cried out in pain as he hit a nearby tree.

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu struggled to get to his feet as the three pokemon began surrounding him. Ash found himself grinding his teeth in frustration at the display.

"Harley, you bastard, that's not fair!"

"Who said anything about fair? This is business, hun. You wanted to intervene, now I have to shut you up and out. Ariados, Spider Web! Cacturne, Faint Attack! Wigglytuff, DoubleSlap! Let's go, guys!"

Ariados traps Pikachu by hitting him with his Spider Web. Pikachu struggled to get up as the cobweb bound him to the ground. He began to panic as he saw Cacturne and Wigglytuff running towards him, ready to attack.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out to his pokemon.

"Try to use Iron Tail to cut the web!"

Pikachu tried to move his tail but to no avail. He was stuck, and tight.

"Oh no."

May, seeing Ash's distress, decided that she had seen enough. She grabbed her purse and took out the one pokeball she always carried with her no matter what.

"Blaziken! Use Flamethrower to protect Pikachu!" May screamed as she threw her pokeball.

The Blaze pokémon materialized in front of her human. Using her mighty legs, she jumped in front of Pikachu and released a stream of fire at Harley's Cacturne and Wigglytuff. The pokémon cried out in pain as the force of the attack sent them crashing into Ariados and onto the ground.

Blaziken then used Sky Uppercut to free Pikachu from the sticky web Ariados had trapped him in.

Ash looked at May, and they both gave each a nod as they looked towards Harley.

"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"

"Blaziken! Use Overheat!"

The two pokémon leaped into the air and released their combined attacks on Harley's pokémon. They all cried out in pain as the combined attacks caused a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, all three pokémon had spirals in their eyes, a clear indication that they had all fainted.

Harely, seeing this, begins stomping his feet. Crying out in the process.

"Oh! My darling, darlings…" He cried as he caressed each of his pokémon.

"Give it up, Harley! It's over!"

Harley smirked as he returned each of his pokémon into their balls.

"How wrong you are, bitch. This is far from over."

"You serious, man? You have no pokémon left. I have a right mind to send you flying if I feel like it. And I might just do that considering how much you're pissing me off right now!"

"Oh, but how wrong you are, boy. Looks like it's time for me to release my secret weapon."

Ash and May shared a worried glance as they looked back at Harley.

"Secret Weapon?"

"Right! My secret weapon! But instead of talking, I'll just show you. Now my mighty Dusknoir, come forth!"

A large, intimidating, grandiose-sized pokémon appeared in front of Harley. It had a large red eye and stared menacingly at Ash and May.

Ash, May, and Pikachu looked on in horror at the mighty beast before them.

"Tha…That's…"

"A Dusknoir? I know. Isn't he beautiful! I got this large barbarous hunk in a trade. My Bannette for this monster. It was a bittersweet moment for me to let him go, but it was worth it. This gorgeous beast is going to help me in my primary objective of eliminating you once and for all! Oh would you just look at him! You gotta admit he has a striking resemblance to the Grim Reaper, don't you think?"

May and Ash just shook their heads. This thing was a monster. Few people in the world even owned a beast as powerful as this and Harley had one?

"Ash, I'm scared."

"Don't worry, May."

"Aww, isn't that nice. Too bad I have to spoil it, though. Now Dusknoir, use Shadow Sneak!"

Dusknoir launched a large beam of dark energy towards them. Ash grabbed May and pushed her out of the way.

"Pikachu! Volt Tackle, now!"

Pikachu got up and began running towards the gruesome monster. He began charging and was soon surrounded in electrical energy. He then jumped up, prepared to hit Dusknoir.

Harley just smirked and looked at his pokémon.

"Now my love, open your mighty stomach!"

Dusknoir heaved forward, then opened up his huge belly nearly 90 degrees. Pikachu gasped as he charged into Dusknoir's stomach that was closed shut only moments ago.

"Pikachu!" Ash screamed as he saw his best friend enveloped by the monster's belly. May gasped as she gazed upon the display.

Harley began laughing ominously, much to Ash and May's chagrin.

"Harley, you son of a bitch! Give me back my pokémon!"

"Can't do that, hun. Gotta keep you under control somehow. Just keep out of my affairs and mind your damn business. Now is that so hard?"

"Harley…"

"If you want your Pikachu back, then come and get it."

Ash grimaced. He couldn't do that. If he went to get Pikachu, that'd leave May out as an open target. But he had to get his best friend back somehow.

Ash began calling out to Pikachu, hoping he could still hear him.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt to shock Dusknoir into releasing you!"

A few grunts were heard. Then, electrical sparks were seen coming from Dusknoir's stomach. As quick as they appeared they vanished, followed by a piercing high-pitched scream.

"Pikachu!"

Harley closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"You didn't think I'd know you'd try that? I'm very well aware of your battle strategy, Ash. That's your name, right? See, Dusknoir's stomach is a large abyss of darkness. Anything that enters it is drained of all energy and spit back out. That way, he can easily destroy anything he finds threatening. Didn't I tell you he had a relation to the Grim Reaper?"

"No…No! No!"

"Oh, don't worry about your pathetic mouse. I can't kill him. That's completely up to Dusknoir. Unfortunately, he can't do that unless he gets assigned a mission from the spirit world."

Ash found himself grinding his teeth in frustration again.

"Whatever. I'm done with that rat, anyway. I only did that to make a point. Dusknoir, darling, you can release him now."

Dusknoir leaned backward and shot Pikachu out with impregnable force. Pikachu hit the ground and bounced off of it three times before skidding across the ground and stopping with a thud.

"Pikachu!"

Ash ran over to his partner and picked up the little mouse. Pikachu had red sparks flying off his cheeks and was burning with a fever.

"Oh no, Pikachu."

"Oh yes. Thank you, Ash. Now Dusknoir! Hyper Beam that bitch!"

Ash's eyes snapped open when realized he left May open for an attack. He spun around to see Harley's Dusknoir launch a beam of yellow energy toward his wife.

"May!"

May looked up to see a beam of bright light come towards her. She began to panic but regained her composure and called out to her pokémon, who had never left her side after she aided Pikachu.

"Blaziken! Intercept it with Overheat!"

Blazikan ran in front of her trainer and launched a beam of fire towards the lighter beam. The two attacks collided, neither side giving in to the others attack. The energy between the two attacks increased and soon they created an explosion.

Harley put his hands on his hips, thinking aloud.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot about that stupid pokémon of yours. Alrighty then, Dusknoir, use Hidden Power!"

Dusknoir surrounded himself in a circle of mysterious energy, then released it towards Blaziken. The little white circles surrounded her and then closed in on her, causing another explosion. The force of the explosion sent May crashing into a nearby tree and caused Blaziken to faint.

"May!" Ash screamed as he ran over to her, his drained pokémon in his arms. He gently set Pikachu beside her, and helped her sit up.

"May, Baby, are you alright?"

"I…I think so…" May started as she began to get up, soon wincing in pain and dropping back down to the floor, gripping her stomach firmly.

"May!"

"Ash…I…"

"May what's wrong?" Ash was beginning to panic. May was in pain, and in a very sensitive area. He hoped, beyond hope, that she wouldn't say that dreaded three-letter sentence he sensed was coming.

"Ash…Ash…something's wrong."

Ash's heart froze as she said those words. '…Something is Wrong…' He could feel himself shake with fear. He looked May squarely in her eyes.

She was scared. And worse, she was crying.

Ash didn't know if she was crying because she was in pain, or because she knew there was a strong possibility that their child might be…

Ash shook his head to empty those thoughts out of his mind. He could feel his own tears start to fall down his face.

'No…no…God please no…'

Ash looked back at his wife. She was hyperventilating. Ash held her firmly in his arms.

"It's okay, May. It's gonna be okay…"

"Ash, I'm scared."

"It'll be okay, May. It's gonna be okay," Ash reassured her, not quite believing his own words.

"Aww, how cute."

Ash's eyes snapped open as he looked menacingly at Harley.

"Harley, you f—king son of a bitch!"

"Oh, that's not very nice, Ash. I never did a damn thing to you!"

"Harley, if I find out you hurt our baby in any way, I swear to God that…"

"Oh, you shouldn't swear to God. What's wrong with you?"

Ash gave a loud scream and lunged himself at Harley, knocking them both on the ground. Harley cried out as Ash began punching him in his face senselessly.

"Dusknoir!"

Ash felt himself being lifted high in the air. Dusknoir held Ash with one hand, looking him deadly in the eyes.

Harley stood up off the ground wiping his lip. He looked down at his suit.

"Oh no! My perfect and elegant white suit! You bastard! You got blood and grass stains all over my new suit! Ohh! Dusknoir, hit that meddling son of a bitch with Focus Punch!"

Ash saw a bright light approach him as he felt Dusknoir's fist connect with his face. The force of the punch sent him flying straight through three large trees and crashing into one.

Ash screamed as he felt a sharp pain shoot up his spine. He knew something broke.

Harley began wiping at his suit feverishly.

"Oh, that's gonna take months to wash out!"

Ignoring the immense pain in his back, Ash desperately tried to get up. He began limping slowly towards May.

Harley, still wiping away at his tux, screamed out to him.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Ash ignored Harley and continued walking towards May. She was grasping her stomach firmly, crying heavily at the pain she was in.

"Oh, no you don't! Dusknoir! Use Psychic!"

Ash felt himself being lifted off the ground once more and slammed into another tree. He screamed out in pain as the tree hit his arm. He knew that was broken now, too.

"Dusknoir, wrap him up in some vines and make sure he stays put!"

Dusknoir used Psychic to join some vines from one of the trees and slowly began wrapping Ash tightly around the tree. When he was done, Ash was securely bound to the tree and moaning and groaning from the pain in his back and arm.

"That'll do, darling. We have bigger Finneon to fry, literally."

Ash began to worry as he saw Harley walk casually over towards May, his Dusknoir right behind him.

"Harley…please! Don't do it! I'll do anything! Please don't hurt May!" Ash said weakly. He could barely keep his eyes open. But he had to hold on. He couldn't let Harley hurt May. She may be the only thing he has left.

Harley stopped, but didn't turn around. Instead he lowered his head in frustration.

"Sorry, Ash. But this is personal. I have a long history with this bitch and it's time I did something about it. Back then, when we competed against each other, I had tried petty attempts to hurt her. I tried to hurt her emotionally and socially. But now I see where I went wrong. I should have destroyed that bitch all those years ago when I had the chance. But I didn't. Well, today I have another chance at revenge, and I'm going to take it."

"Harley…"

"Ash, if I really wanted to hurt her, I would have killed you off years ago. But I don't just want to hurt her. I don't just want her to feel pain. I want her dead!"

"Harley…please…she's the only thing I have left…" Ash felt his eyes burn as his tears flowed down his face.

Harley paused before he responded.

"Sorry, hun. Nothing against you, but there really is nothing you can do to change my mind. I've planned this for so long. I'm so close to tasting revenge, and I'm not about to stop now. Sorry it has to be this way."

And with that, Harley continued his walk towards May.

Ash could feel himself go numb. The vines were digging deep into his flesh. He was sure he was bleeding from the pressure of the vines against his body.

Ash looked over to best friend. Pikachu laid there, moaning in pain. Ash knew what would happen if he didn't get him to a Pokémon Center quick. He looked back over at his wife. She was still grasping her stomach firmly, and her tears still fell down her face. Her eyes were closed shut, and she was groaning loudly.

Ash began sobbing hard, knowing there was nothing he could really do for them.

Harley stood over May, looking at her menacingly.

"Well, well, well. My, how the tables have turned."

May slowly looked up at her long time rival. Her vision was blurred from the tears in her eyes.

"Harley…we have to bring this to an end…"

"I couldn't agree with you more."

"Harley, please, it's Christmas…"

"How right you are. I'm gonna give the greatest gift you'll ever get. I'm about to put you out of your misery."

"Harley…"

"I can clearly see that you're in pain. I'm about to make it so that it never happened. You'll never feel pain ever again."

"Harley…please…"

"Give up, May. It's over. I won."

May dropped her head, sobbing hard. She knew what was coming, and she couldn't do anything about it.

"Now Dusknoir, it's time to end this. Let's finish this bitch off with Hyper Beam."

Dusknoir began charging energy. Two large balls of bright light began to form by his hands. He was ready to strike when his trainer gave the order.

Harley's dark expression immediately lit up into a large smile.

"Oh! This is such a Kodak moment! Smile, May!"

Harley got out his camera and slid his head right next to May's, giving a large smile as he shot the camera.

"Oh, May! I told you to smile!" He said as he looked at the picture seeing May's glum expression.

"Oh well. All charged up, Dusknoir?"

Dusknoir gave his human a nod.

"Alrighty then. Any last words before I take you out of your misery, hun?"

"Harley…I…"

"Too late! Now Dusknoir! Blast her with Hyper Beam!"

Dusknoir put his hands close to May's face as he began releasing the mighty beam.

"Merry Christmas, Bitch!"

May eyes widened when she saw the two large balls Dusknoir held in his hands form into a large beam. The last thing she remembered was seeing that bright light dangerously close to her face.

Ash cried out as he saw the bright beam of yellow energy hit his wife. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. He felt numb when Dusknoir put his large barbaric hands in her face, and he felt his body drain when he saw the beam make contact with it.

"May!" Ash closed his eyes as he felt an explosion begin to form when the close-ranged attack hit both May and the tree behind her.

When he opened his eyes, he felt his soul slowly start to drain away from him.

There, on the ground, he saw his wife lying there limply, not moving, not breathing. Her eyes were opened but not seeing. Her ears were open but not hearing. Her mouth was opened, saliva and blood pouring out onto the brown sand.

Ash couldn't believe his eyes.

May, his wife, his partner, his love, was dead.

Harley stared at her, his eyes wide, and his mouth open.

"Is she…is she really…"

Harley walked over to her and lifted up her arm. It fell limply back to the earth. He lifted it two more times and got the same results.

"I did it…I did it! Haha! The bitch is dead! The bitch is dead!" Harley screamed as he began dancing around the field, holding his Dusknoir's hands in the process.

"Oh Dusknoir, honey, we did it! The bitch is finally dead! I'm finally rid of her forever! Whoa-hoo!"

Ash just shook his head. He couldn't believe it.

"May…no…no…God no…please, don't let this be true! Oh God! May!"

Ash was shaking. He couldn't believe this. He didn't want to believe this. Yet the evidence was right there in his face.

Ash looked back over to his slowly dying pokemon. Pikachu laid there, still alive, but his breathing was shallow. It wouldn't be long until he met the same fate as May.

"No…No! God No! Please don't let this be true! Please!"

Harley froze when he realized he wasn't alone. He looked over to Ash, who was sobbing hard, looking down at the ground.

Harley stopped dancing and slowly walked over to Ash. He stood over him, his eyes full of contempt.

"I'm so sorry it had to be this way, Ash."

Ash didn't respond. He just continued crying, his eyes closed.

"You do realize what I have to do now, right?"

"Please…just make it quick."

"I promise. Dusknoir…"

Dusknoir again began charging up his Hyper Beam.

Ash could feel the heat of the beam in his face. He closed his eyes shut as he prepared for the impact.

"Alrighty Dusknoir, Hyper Be…"

Harley was cut off as a large vortex of fire hit the ground, separating Harley and his Dusknoir from Ash, preventing him from continuing his attack.

Harley screamed in terror as he saw the large vortex burn the very ground he was standing just moments ago. What would have happened if Dusknoir didn't push him out of the way just before the attack hit? Harley gave another shrill scream as the ongoing attack continued.

Ash just looked transfixed as the heat of the flames nearly burned him to a crisp. The vortex was only mere inches from his face and he was surprised that it just didn't melt right off.

When the attack ceased, the ground between Ash and Harley was severely charred.

Harley looked at it wide-eyed.

"What the hell was that?"

Harley's question was answered when a large majestic bird flew down, hovering above them. It was approximately 3.8 meters high and it had multi-colored feathers. It had a feathered crest and prismatic wings. It stared menacingly at Harley.

Dusknoir instinctively bowed down to the bird while Harley looked at it awestruck.

"H…H…Ho-Oh?"

The legendary bird cried out as it opened its mighty wings, allowing Harley to see it in all its glory.

Ash just shook his head in disbelief.

_'A Ho-Oh? What would Ho-Oh be doing here in Hoenn?_' He thought to himself.

Then he noticed something different about the bird. Its rainbow colored body was not as dark as it usually was. In fact, they were bright. Bright pastel colors.

A smile lit up on Ash's face when he looked at the familiar features. He knew _this _Ho-Oh!

The phoenix-like bird looked at Harley apocalyptically.

"Oh! Your Majesty! I…I…" Harley was cut off as the bird cried in his face.

"But what did I do?"

Ho-Oh looked at Harley, then looked over towards May's limp body. Harley followed her gaze and realized what she was talking about. He instantly began to defend himself.

"B-Bu-But Your Majesty, she deserved it. She…" Harley was cut off again as the bird gave another cry.

Dusknoir shook his head at his trainer's foolish mistake. How dumb was he to tell the creator of all pokémon that it was right to kill someone?

With one loud cry, Rainbow hit both Harley and Dusknoir with a mighty Hyper Beam. Dusknoir was surprised that the attack even had effect, him being a ghost-type pokémon and all.

Then again, this was Ho-Oh.

Together Harley and Dusknoir was shot high the sky, blasting off like how Team Rocket did all those years ago. As they were flying, Harley noticed that his tux was completely burned and soon turned to ashes as he soared through the air, leaving him clad only in his Luvdisc briefs.

"Oh no! My beautiful suit!" Harley cried as he and Dusknoir disappeared in the sky.

The phoenix-like bird flew down beside Ash and looked him lovingly in the eyes.

"Wow, is that really you, Ho-Oh?"

The colorful bird just nodded her head.

"Wow Ho-Oh, you've really grown since the last time I saw you," Ash said as she freed him from the vines.

Ash winced in pain as fell flaccidly to the ground.

Rainbow looked at Ash in confusion until she remembered what happened earlier. Gently, she put one of her wings over him.

Ash opened his eyes as he felt the pain in his body slowly fade away. When the beautiful bird lifted her wing, Ash stood up, looking at her in confusion.

"Ho-Oh…wow, you did this?"

Again the bird nodded her head.

"Wow, you must be…" Ash was cut off as he heard a low groan. He looked over to the side to see his pokemon lying on the ground, breathing slowly.

"Pikachu!"

Ash ran over to his best friend and gently picked him up.

"Oh Pikachu."

The little mouse was sweating and his eyes were lightly shut. His breathing was very low and he was burning up.

"Pikachu…"

Ho-Oh, seeing the situation, again placed her wing over Pikachu.

Ash looked transfixed as he saw a pink light outline Pikachu's body and Cora's wings.

A few seconds later, she lifted her wing from over Pikachu, and stared at him to see if he was okay.

Ash called out to his pokémon again.

"Pikachu?"

The little mouse slowly opened his eyes, before he snapped them wide open. He blinked his eyes a few times before he looked at his trainer, first in confusion, then in sheer happiness.

"Pika Pi!"

Ash's frowning lip widened into a smile as he looked at his healthy pokémon.

"Pikachu! You're all right!"

The two embraced each other firmly at seeing that the other was okay.

"I'm so glad you're okay buddy!"

"Pika Pikachu!"

Ho-Oh smiled at the loving display.

When the two let go of each other, Pikachu's cheery expression changed into one of confusion as he looked at the large bird behind Ash.

"Pika?"

Ash's eyes snapped open when he realized the other person he lost only minutes ago.

"May!"

Ash sprinted towards his wife, followed by Pikachu and Rainbow.

He dropped to the ground on his knees and looked endearingly at his wife.

"Oh no. May!" Ash cried as he picked up her limp body. Her neck bent back unnaturally as her arms fell back to the earth.

Ash's tears returned again when he realized the realization of the situation. Ash caressed her face, holding her chin up as he gently gave her a kiss on the lips. His hand then glided down to her belly. It stayed there for several moments, trying desperately to feel for life.

Ash's sobs become harder and he grasps May firmly in his arms, holding her tightly against his body.

Pikachu stares at his trainer and May with a worried expression on his face. Just how much did he miss when Harley's monster spit him out of his stomach?

"Oh God…May I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" Ash cried as he held May even closer.

Oh-Oh, seeing the display, realized the other reason she even came to Hoenn in the first place. She slowly walked over to Ash. Gently, she put both her wings over May, transferring some kind of blue energy over to her, and closed her eyes in concentration. Ash opened his eyes to see the colorful legendary bird over him, with both wings over his wife. He blinked several times trying to figure out what she was doing.

She was hovering over May like how she was over Piakchu, but this time the energy transferred was blue instead of pink and it outlined her whole body and not just her wings.

When the transfer was complete, Rainbow lifted her wings off of May, and stepped back a few feet. Ash looked at her with no clear expression until he felt movement in his arms.

Ash's eyes snapped back to his wife as he saw her eyes flutter open. She blinked a few times before looking around in confusion.

"Where…"

Ash's eyes widened as he saw her slowly lean forward. He saw her rub and squint her eyes as she looked at him.

"Ash?"

Ash flung his arms around her as he pulled her into a tight embrace.

"May! You're alive!" He cried as he felt his tears fall freely down his face again.

"Alive? What are you…" May was cut off as Ash pressed his lips firmly against hers. When he pulled back he looked her lovingly in her eyes.

"May, I thought I lost you."

"Lost me? What are you talking about?"

"Harley, he attacked you…"

"Harley? Ash, Harley's all the way on the other side of the world."

Ash nearly smirked when he realized how close to home she had hit and the irony in it all.

"But he was just here…You mean you don't remember?

"Ash, all I remember is you showing me that picture in the sky with the Swablu and Illumise and Volbeat."

Ash looked at Rainbow in confusion. She just gave him a look that said 'It's better this way.'

Ash scrunched up his face.

"Ash, Baby, are you feeling okay?"

"I…" Ash froze at what she said. Instinctively, he placed his hand on her belly. He let it stay there for a few moments. He began to panic when he didn't feeling anything. A few seconds later he felt something hit his hand. A smile lit up on his face when he realized what it was.

"The baby!"

"What?"

"The baby! It's kicking!"

"Yes, yes, the baby's kicking…Ash, is something wrong?"

Ash didn't respond. He just pulled May to her feet and embraced her once more.

"Oh God, May, I love you so much."

"Yes, honey, I know."

"The baby, too. You're both my whole world."

"Yes, yes, baby, I know."

As Ash pulled back he felt something hop on his shoulder and nuzzle his face.

"You too, Pikachu. All of you are my world."

"Pika?"

"I'd die if I lost anyone of you."

May and Pikachu shared a worried glance.

"Uh, honey, are you feeling okay?"

"Never better, May. Never better," He said with a smile as his tears began to flow down his face.

"Oh baby, what's wrong?" May asked, her voice full of concern.

"Nothing, May. Not a single thing is wrong."

May gave her husband a worried look. She was about to ask him a question when she felt something rub against her back. She turned around to see the beautiful legendary bird who had resurrected her moments ago looking down at her, wearing a warm smile on her face.

"Wha…Ho-Oh?"

"Not just Ho-Oh, May."

Mat looked back at the colorful bird. Her eyes widened when she realized just who the bird was.

"Ho-Oh?"

The sky guardian nodded her head to assure her friend.

"Oh my…Look at you! You're all grown up!"

Ho-Oh nuzzled her friend once more, loving the feeling of touching her again.

"Wow…So you're the present guardian of the skies now huh?"

The phoenix-like again nodded her head in agreement.

"My, how you've grown. Who'd a thought that little egg I found all those years ago would mature into this beautiful legendary before me."

Ho-Oh just smiled at her trainer's remark.

"So what're you doing in Hoenn? I thought you were supposed to be in Orre with your mother?"

"Well, she is the guardian of the skies, May. She's responsible for the whole world. Can't very well stay in one location now, can she? I mean what sense would it make to have two Ho-Oh's in one location? How can she protect the world if she's in the same place as another Ho-Oh? They have to spread out for them to fulfill they're destiny."

Ho-Oh was impressed at the way her friend handled the situation. She could have very well taken off and left that part unanswered.

"Well, take care of yourself, Rainbow. I love you always."

The legendary bird smiled and nuzzled May once more, before taking off into the sky, her feathers changing from a bright pastel color to gold and leaving a trail of a rainbow behind her.

Ash gave May a good squeeze around her waist as they watched the bird disappear from sight.

"C'mon, beautiful. We better get home before Mom 2 starts yelling at us for being late for her very special Christmas dinner."

"Mom 2?"

"I'm working on it."

* * *

Ash and May laughed heartily as they entered the front door. It wasn't too long before they were met by Brock and Plusle.

"Where have you two been?"

"Pla! Plah"

"Out…I told you we were going out for a walk."

"Ash, I…" Brock was cut off as a loud crash was heard coming from the living room.

"The hell was that?"

"Probably a chair making contact with a wall."

"What?" Ash and May asked simultaneously.

They were answered as they heard a loud cry and then another crash, louder than the first.

"What was that?"

"Probably Barry's Rapidash hitting Paul's Torterra with a Flamethrower and Torterra crashing into Lucas' Infernape, who in turn, crashed into a wall."

Ash, May, and Pikachu had blank expressions on their faces.

"Brock…"

"May, all Hell broke loose when you two left. First, Paul and Barry got into this huge fight over Dawn and Misty. Then Lucas, some friend of Dawn's, came over. But then he and Barry got into a fight since Lucas used to date Dawn. Pretty soon all three of them got into a huge argument. Then they started to fight each other, throwing lefts and rights. Then they brought out their pokémon! They all started battling each other! And if that wasn't bad enough, Lucy dropped by, with her new boyfriend! Her freaking boyfriend! Why the hell would she come by here with her boyfriend after we broke up, huh?"

"I thought you two decided together that you didn't want to be together again?" May questioned.

"Yeah, and where's Mom and Delia?" asked Ash.

"One, it still hurts, Ash! I mean have you seen Lucy lately? Oh God, she's hot! And she was wearing a freaking midriff and mini-skirt! And it's winter. Winter, Ash! Two, I don't know where Caroline and Delia are!"

"What?" said a worried May.

"You mean they're gone?"

"No. They didn't leave. They're just not here."

Ash and May shared worried glances as they looked back at Brock.

"Uh, Brock. Did you hear what you just said?"

"What?"

"How can Mom and Caroline…I mean, Mom 2, be here if they're not here?"

"What are you talking about? They are here. They're just not here."

Ash and May exchanged glances again.

"Uh, Brock man, you feeling okay?"

"What?"

"I think you need to lie down."

"What? No! I'm fine!"

"Brock, you just said that Caroline and Mom were here and not here at the same time."

"They are here! They're just not here!"

"I think the eggnog's going to his head."

"What are you talking about! I'm not crazy!"

"We know that Brock…May, I think we need to call someone."

"What are you talking about! I'm fine!"

"Yes, Brock, we know…who, Ash?"

"I'm fine! I'm fine! I'm freaking fine!"

"May, I think we're losing him."

"God Dammit, Ash! I'm fine!"

Brock was cut off as another crash was heard in the back.

"Take that, you son of a bitch!"

"F—k you! F—k all of you Mother Fu…" Another crash was heard in the back.

"Paul, please!"

"Barry! Lucas! Stop it!"

"I can't believe you left me for this arrogant Mamzer."

"Mamzer! Is that French for Jackass?"

"See! He's so stupid! No, Jackass! It's a synonym for Bastard! But thank you for pointing out the obvious fact that you are indeed a Jackass!"

"You son of a…" Another crash is heard from the living room as the fight between Paul, Barry, and Lucas continued.

"God Dammit, what is wrong with you people!" Brock screamed as he began punching the wall.

"Ash, I think he's lost it."

"Dammit, May! I'm not crazy! I'm fine! Perfectly Fine! F-I-N-E! Fine!"

"Ash, he's lost it!"

"Arg! I'M FINE!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Pika-CHUU!"

Pikachu shocks Brock with a mighty Thunderbolt, knocking him unconscious.

"Whew, that was close."

"Ash! What did you do?" Max screamed as he ran down the stairs to see Brock lying on the floor knocked out.

"Brock was scaring us. He kept talking about how Caroline and Mom were here and not here at the same time, then he began punching the walls and pulling at his hair. He was really freaking us out. I think his separation with Lucy is driving him crazy."

"What? No! Brock may have been the only sane one here!"

"But Max, he kept talking about how Mom and Delia were here and not here."

"They are here! They're in the kitchen."

"Then why did he keep saying they weren't here?"

"Because they're not here."

Ash and May's eyes widen as they looked at Max, fearing that he too had gone off the deep end.

"Max…"

"May, they're not here mentally."

"What?" Ash said, confused.

"Are you calling Mom retarded?"

"I don't know what I'm calling her! All day, she's been in that kitchen and I find it very hard to believe that she didn't hear a damn thing that was going on in here! The fact that Delia didn't hear it either is scaring me, May. The kitchen isn't soundproof! Why isn't she out here doing something?"

Ash, Pikachu, and May share worried glances as they looked back at Max.

"Maybe we should go in the kitchen to see…"

Ash was cut off as another crash was heard in the living room, followed by an 'Uh Oh.'

"Oh God!"

"Barry! What have you done?"

"That wasn't me! It was Lucas and his damned Infernape!"

"No, the hell it wasn't! It was that dumbass purple-headed freak and his Torterra!"

"Who the f—k do you think you're talking to? I didn't do shit!"

"Paul!"

Another crash was heard as the smell of smoke filled the house.

"Oh no."

"Ash, please tell me I don't smell smoke in Mom's house."

"Uhh…"

Another crash was heard as fire was seen pouring out of the living room and into the front room.

"Ash, please tell me I don't see fire burning the main hallway."

"I wish I could, May."

"Ash, May, I think we better get out of here!" Max screamed as the fire advanced on them.

"I think you're right, Max."

Ash and Max began to run for the front door when May called out to them.

"Wait! What about the others?"

"They're grown! They can get out by themselves."

"But…"

"C'mon May! This place is gonna collapse soon."

"Ash, no. This is wrong."

"I'm not asking you."

Ash, as gently as he could, heaved May up and carried her bridal-style to the door.

"Ash! Put me down!"

"Max, grab Brock. I don't think he's gonna wake up any time soon."

Max did what he was told and proceeded to the door, Prikachu right behind him."

"Ash!"

"Dammit May, I'm not gonna lose you again! Let's go!"

"What're you talking about?"

Before Max and Ash could open the door, the sprinklers in the house went off.

"What the f—k, man!"

"Oh Paul…"

"My hair!"

"Would you stop complaining about your damn hair and move, Dawn! We have to get out of here!"

"And you still stay with a Jackass like him."

All the voices were unsettling to Ash, May, and Max, but none of them were as terrifying as what they heard next.

"My Ham!"

* * *

Max and May winced as they gazed upon the ruins of their house. The Pokémon Rangers arrived only moments ago to put out the flames. Everyone had gotten out safely. It was what followed the fire that was unsettling. Paul, Barry, and Lucas continued to fight with one another while Dawn and Misty were trying to break the feud, and Brock was being looked after by a paramedic, but that wasn't the unsettling part.

No. What was unsettling for them was the fact that their mother and Delia hadn't said anything about the whole thing. Caroline told the officers that she wouldn't press charges against Paul or Barry, while Delia remained quiet throughout the whole ordeal.

Even after the rangers and police left, they still stood there, silently looking at the now destroyed house. Their brow was in a wrinkle, and their mouth was curved downward.

Ash slowly walked over to his mom, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Hey, mom…" He was cut off as Delia held her hand up, a clear indication that she didn't want to speak right now.

Ash timidly walked back towards May, fear clearly in his eyes.

Max finally built up enough courage to go over to his mom.

"M-Mom?"

She didn't respond.

"M-Mom? A-Are you okay?"

"No, Max. I'm not okay."

Max paused before trying to say something again. However, he was cut off by Caroline.

"My ham, my turkey, my cider, my rice, my roast, my yams, my sweet potato, my pies,…all of it. Gone."

Max took a few steps away from his mother.

"Six days of preparation all gone!"

Max hastened his pace to get away from his mother and ran behind Ash and May.

"All my hard work…Gone!"

Delia began nodding her head in agreement.

"And to top it off, my house is now gone as well!"

The three of them began exchanging worried glances.

"So to answer your question Max, No! The hell I'm not okay! I'm far from the damned word!"

Max and May began shivering in fear. Their mother wasn't the one to curse, being a very religious person and believing that you should search for other things in place of curse words. So to hear her curse was more than frightening.

Caroline herself began to shake as her anger began to rise. Caroline stopped her rant on Max when she heard three voices yelling at one another.

"What the hell is your problem, buddy?"

"You Jackass! You f—ked up the house which means you f—ked up the food! The only reason I even came to this dumbass gathering was for the food! And thanks to you, that's not gonna happen!"

"That wasn't my damn fault! It was this son of bitch over here!"

"Now I know you're not gonna pin this whole thing on me, dummy! And as for you, you know damn well it was your fault, you purple-haired bastard!"

"Come say that to my f—king face!"

Caroline's eye began to twitch as she stormed off toward the group.

"Uh Oh. This will not be pretty," Ash whispered as he watched his mother-in-law approach the feuding men.

"And I don't know who the fu…"

Paul was cut off as Caroline grabbed him and threw him to a nearby tree.

"What the fu…"

"Shut up!"

"Who the fu…"

Caroline grabbed him again and threw him towards Barry, knocking both men to the ground. Rubbing their heads, they looked up at the infuriated woman.

"Dammit, lady! What the…"

"You listen to me, you pathetic sons of bitches! You destroyed my very special Christmas meal! You just destroyed over $5,000 worth of food and over $364,000 worth of damage when you burned down my house! That's almost $400,000 worth of damage total!"

"Look, lady…"

Paul was cut off as Caroline grabbed him and pulled him dangerously close to her face.

"Cut me off again and I'll make sure…"

"Um, M-Ma'am?"

Caroline looked over her shoulder to see Lucas standing there, trembling uncontrollably.

"Um…Ma'am…I…I just…"

"Little boy, if you don't get the hell out of my sight…"

Faster than anyone could count, Lucas sprinted away from Caroline and straight for Slateport City. He was catching the next boat to Sinnoh if it killed him.

With a huff, Caroline threw Paul down on the ground right next to Barry. She looked them both squarely in the eye.

"All those damned hours I spent ignoring you, acting like I didn't hear a damn noise you were making in my living room. I heard the crashes! I heard the swearing! I smelled the fire! But I thought one of you would be smart enough to go outside and fight or at least use your water pokémon to put out the flames! Yes, I'm looking at you, Misty!"

Misty cowered behind Dawn as she heard her name mentioned.

"Look, I don't give a damn who started the fire or destroyed my house and well-prepared Christmas meal! I may not have pressed charges against you two but so help me God, you blasted sons of bitches are gonna pay off all the damn damage you did to my house or I will kill you myself and they'll never find your bodies! And I'm married to a Gym Leader. A Famous Gym Leader! I know people! I can make it happen!"

Paul and Barry shivered in fear looking at the Maple matriarch.

"All of you God damn bastards better learn to get along or I will press charges, and I will put you behind bars, where Officer Jenny will do a hell of a worse things to you than I ever could! Am I understood?"

Paul and Barry looked at each other before looking back at Caroline.

"Y-Yes Ma'am!"

"Message received and understood!"

Ash, May, Max and the Pikachu looked on at the display in utter shock. They didn't know whether to be happy or scared at the way Caroline handled the situation. The whole time Delia was nodding her head in agreement with Caroline.

Finally, Ash grabbed all of them in a hug and spoke up.

"Well guys, at least it's safe to say this is one Christmas we will always remember."

* * *

A/N: And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, concludes part 2 of A Christmas to Remember. Hope you all liked it. I know there may be some confusion about the Ho-Oh involved with Ash and May. Don't worry about it. Again, it'll be a separate story in my future fics.

Anyway, I gotta hop off. Again I say don't forget to review. Love you all! I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!


End file.
